


Bad Girls Do It Better

by lifeofgesture



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Parahumans Series - Wildbow, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23484235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeofgesture/pseuds/lifeofgesture
Summary: Four people across the vast multiverse are connected through a Node - a telepathic hub that allows them to exchange messages in real time - and must work together to face the oncoming challenges.There’s angst, crime, and cute fluff.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 62





	1. Introduction

**About this fic:  
Can you provide a synopsis?  
** Four people across the vast multiverse are connected through a Node - a telepathic hub that allows them to exchange messages in real time - and must work together to face the oncoming challenges.

There’s angst, crime, and cute fluff.

 **Wait, haven’t I seen this story before?  
** Nope! You’ve probably seen the other stories set in the same ‘verse, though! Those stories are:  
Conference Call ([SB](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/conference-call-multicross.682117/) |[SV](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/conference-call-multicross.50109/) | [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503944/chapters/44074786))  
Everything listed above was written by the wonderful and amazing Pachycephalosaur, who created the Nodeverse and gave me permission to create a Node of my own.

 **So, wait, is this story canon to Conference Call/Quest?  
** Sure is! But don’t expect it to cross over any time soon. Bad Girls Do it Better wants to fly on its own merits!

 **Do I have to be familiar with (x)?  
** I am trying to make it so that readers who are generally unfamiliar with three of the settings can enjoy the story. Any information that the reader doesn’t have is not strictly plot critical or will be explained later. However, the setting Avatar: The Last Airbender is set after the series ending so warning for spoilers for that series.

Full spoilers for all of these stories for this story. If you want to experience these stories without the spoilers, Worm is available for free here, Avatar: The Last Airbender is available for purchase in here, Madoka Magica is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll, and My Hero Academia is available on Crunchyroll as an anime and Viz entertainment for manga.

**Story (x) has me curious! Can you explain it?  
**

Sure!  
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show in which the world is divided into four nations -- the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation and and the Air Nomads -- each represented by a natural element for which the nation is named. Benders have the ability to control and manipulate the element from their nation. Only the Avatar is the master of all four elements. The ruthless Fire Nation wants to conquer the world but the only bender who has enough power to stop them, the Avatar, has disappeared ... until now. Now Katara and Sokka must safeguard Aang on his journey to master all four elements and save the world from the Fire Nation. It is set after the series ending and is represented by Azula, the younger sister of prince Zuko.

Worm is a web-serial about a bullied teenage girl with the power to control bugs, and her conflicts with superpowered foes. The story is very dark and doesn’t hold its punches often, with a unique power system and deep setting. It is set before the beginning of the series and is represented by Aisha, who is a normal girl.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a show in which Madoka Kaname is offered a wish in exchange for battling witches. It is represented by Homura, a magical girl desperate to stop this.

My Hero Academia is a show that follows the adventures of Izuku Midoriya, who attends the prestigious UA school. It is represented by Toga Himiko, a girl desperate to be normal and is set a few years before the show starts.

 **Explain what this is?  
** Bad Girls Do it Better is a work in a series of experimental crossover fanwork utilizing multiple settings and viewpoint characters.

 **What’s up with the word count?  
** The story is nearly twice as long as the automatically generated word count would indicate, because text in spoiler boxes is not counted towards the length of the story.

 **Where’s the story start?  
** Right here:

Node 1125 is open!

ModDog:  /admin canMessageList = ‘mod’  
ModDog:  /inviteFrom Queue

Azula, aLaborn, hAkemi, hToga invited to node (+9.7%, +8.3%, +15.5%, +5.5%)

ModDog:  Everything’s looking good! Boy, I can’t wait to meet them!

  



	2. Chapter 1

_[You have been invited to join Node1125. Do you accept?]_

Homura paused as she lowered her rocket launcher. She’d been in the middle of destroying a witch for her reserves when this invasive thought took hold in her mind. _Was this an incubator trick? But none of them had done this before in her time loops_ ... She frowned when she couldn’t reject the invitation right away. Curling her magic around the invitation, she found she couldn’t damage it at all.

She released time so the rockets could do their job, flipped her hair, and caught the grief seed. Walking forward as the witch’s labyrinth collapsed, Homura brooded on this newest development. This couldn’t possibly be another magical girl; she knew that there wasn’t any with mind magic in the vicinity. None matched this strange development.

Striding out of the shadows of the alleyway, she jumped out to a rooftop to find an incubator.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

_[You have been invited to join Node1125. Do you accept?]_

Aisha jerked in her theatre seat. She had slipped in from the back door that one of the workers occasionally left open for smoking. While watching two Hollywood stars suck face, the intrusive message had slipped into her mind like a firework in the dark — sudden and bright.

Was … this a parahuman thing?

She tried thinking No at it, but it didn’t go away. Okay, so that didn’t work. Maybe she should tell Brian? She contemplated that for a second before bursting out into laughter in the empty theatre. Yeah, no. She decided to accept the message. Aisha Laborn wasn’t afraid of anything and she wasn’t about to start being afraid now.

Yes.

_[Connection established.]_

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

It was a cold, dry underground dungeon that housed Azula. She hung in her chains, and shame colored her despair. Hunger gnawed at her, but she ignored it as her cracked thoughts shrieked in her mind. She had seen her father broken when they had taken her to her cell. Zuko told her that the Avatar had taken his firebending, but nothing had convinced her until she’d seen the look on Father’s face. That was when she knew he’d lost.

Zuko had told her she was safe, but Azula knew better. It was only a matter of time before the Avatar came for her. She had to escape, which was a bitter thought on her tongue. She had to run.

The chains on her weren’t rated for the heat that she could bring, and she had been firebending them constantly when she was alone. But when she was alone, her thoughts came down on her like a tidal wave, making her hands shake in weakness. She loathed those shaking hands. She wanted to smash her hands bloody against the wall until THEY STOPPED SHAKING-

_[You have been invited to join Node1125. Do you accept?]_

… Azula started laughing, scaring the rats and guards in the jail. She had snapped. Her mind was gone! After she had finished laughing, she felt hollow inside. It was as if someone had burnt her to cinders and all there was left was the ash.

The invitation pressed at her insistently and she suddenly wished she could firebend it out of her mind. But it was all in her head after all. And it really wouldn’t go away! 

Fine. She’d accept. It was not like she had anything left to lose.

_I, Firelord Azula, accept._

_[Connection Established.]_

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Toga Himiko told herself she was happy.

“You know, I’m not sure Jin will like this new haircut. What do you think, Himiko?” Kyoko Sanada asked her. She was a small petite girl with a slender neck and an elegant demeanor.

“It looks fine Kyoko!” Himiko assured her, automatically.

Himari Kiji, a girl with fuzzy antennae, spoke up. “So is anyone going to a hero school? I mean, Ryukyu is so cool! I wanna be just like her!”

Toga opened her mouth to speak.

_[You have been invited to join Node1125. Do you accept?]_

She stumbled, her feet catching on nothing. Himari caught her shoulder, looking concerned.

“You okay Himiko?” She asked.

“Yes, everything is fine,” Toga lied.

The message persisted and she was unable to pull her mind from the thought. It felt alien and insistent, like she had to accept.

Toga went to the bathroom halfway through class and locked herself in the bathroom to think. Was this a quirk thing? But her quirk was blood … Maybe someone was messing with her with their quirk? But why would someone do that? She was always amiable, always polite — a good girl. Why would someone put an unremovable message in her mind?

She suddenly felt a flush of rage. Well if this was a prank she was going to give them a piece of her mind! With a snarl, she accepted the invitation.

__

_[Connection Established.]_

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Homura looked upon the incubator coldly as the chill wind blew her long black hair all around. As far as she’d learned, they were an unfeeling multidimensional parasitic race that preyed upon young girls. She was loathe to interact with it but she needed to know if it had put this message in her mind. A message that had still not left.

“Did you put a message in my brain, Kyubey?” she asked, coldly.

It swished its tail. _I … have no idea what you’re talking about, Akemi Homura._

Homura paused. On one hand, Kyubey had never outright lied to her in any of her other timelines, but on the other, who else would have the power to do something like this? It was disturbing.

 _Akemi Homura_ \- Incubator started to speak before Homura stepped off the side of the building to fall. She landed on a light pole, absorbed the impact with a bit of magic, and started running along the lines. Her feet were light and swift, making the travel home go by in a flash. Entering her empty house, she approached her workbench and attempted to make more bombs to clear her turbulent mind. Attempt was the key word.

That message interrupted her focus constantly, and eventually she gave up in disgust. She threw herself on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

__

[You have been invited to join Node6584. Do you accept?]

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

aLaborn has joined the Node!  
ModDog: Welcome!  
aLaborn: yo whats this shit.  
ModDog: I’m your mod host and this is Node 1125!  
aLaborn: what kind of parahuman shit is this?  
ModDog: Nothing of the sort!  
Azula has joined the Node!  
ModDog: Welcome!  
Azula: What is this?  
ModDog: This is an inter-cosmological construct, designed to build connections between disparate and conflicting multiversal models.  
Azula: I didn’t know the voices in my head would be so verbose.  
aLaborn: not a figment of your imagination.  
Azula: Hmph, can you _prove_ it?  
ModDog: Uh, together we can build a more coherent multiverse!  
tHimiko has joined the Node!

  


Aisha really didn’t like this girl’s tone. She was walking back home as this weird chatroom went on in her head. It was getting to evening, but the sun was still peeking out so she wasn’t too concerned about her safety.

hToga: Who’s pranking me?!  
aLaborn: uh no one is.  
ModDog: Don’t worry, I assure you, this is not a joke!  
hToga: Then … What is this?  
aLaborn: scroll up.  
Azula: How _strange_. Is this what being insane feels like?  
ModDog: You’re not crazy! And I can prove it! Do /summon aLaborn !  
Azula: Hmph. Very Well. /summon aLaborn 

Azula is attempting to summon aLaborn. aLaborn, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’.

Intrigued, Aisha accepted it. Aisha stumbled as her vision split, and she held onto a nearby wall as she saw a young East Asian girl chained up to a wall with a shitty haircut. The girl jerked away as soon as she appeared. What the fuck?

“What the fuck?” Aisha said to the girl who was staring at her openly. Aisha looked around to see she was in an underground prison cell.

“You’re real. I’m not crazy,” she whispered. This must be Azula. Why was she chained up?

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Azula stared at the dark skinned girl, who looked kind of like she was in the water tribe, but there was something subtly wrong about that assumption. Her eyes weren’t blue and her skin was a flush darker than the water tribe savages. Her clothes were strange too; they showed far too much skin, and yet were of high quality make, from the uniform stitching that Azula’s sharp eyes could make out. She reached out and touched her, making Alaborn flinch, which confirmed her deepest hopes. Azula hadn’t plumbed the depths of insanity yet. She was real so therefore Azula was real too.

“Soooo, why’re you in prison?” Alaborn asked, sitting next to Azula. She lounged, splaying her green netted legs.  


ModDog: Hey did it work? Guys did it work?  
aLaborn: … yeah it did. wtf man.  
ModDog: Haha, sorry! It’s just something that was very hard to get and I’m relieved it works!  


“ … I was Firelord, but my brother defeated me in an Agni Kai and out of weak milk of kindness, imprisoned me instead of executing me.” Azula spat.

“There’s a lot of words there I kinda get, but don’t really,” Alaborn said, perching her head on her arms to stare at Azula comfortably. “Like firelord and agni kai?”

She really was from another world. “Firelord is the head of the Fire Nation. They are the absolute power of the country. Agni Kai is a ritual of my country in which you duel another when invoked.”

“Huh. You look like you’re fourteen, how the hell did you become a head of state?” Alaborn frowned.

“My Father became the Phoenix King, ruler of the world, and left me the throne.” Azula said bitterly. She looked down.

“Wow megalomania much?” Alaborn commented, causing Azula’s ire to rise.

“Father is a great man!” She screamed, scaring Alaborn with the burst of fire that erupted from her hands. She could hear the real thought, _Father **was** a great man_.

“Whoa what the fuck bitch?!” Alaborn yelled backing up, before disappearing.

Azula stared at the space Alaborn was, feeling strangely empty.

aLaborn: bitch set me on fire!!  
ModDog: Oh no!  



	3. Chapter 2

Toga wasn’t sure what to think of this. She had returned from the bathroom to the classroom and was idly listening to the lecture while she paid more attention to the chatroom in her mind.

aLaborn: my fishnets are fucking ruined!! do you know how much these cost??  
ModDog: Uh, at least you’re okay?  
aLaborn: /summon Azula  
  
aLaborn is attempting to summon Azula. Azula, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
ModDog: !!!  
aLaborn: fight me bitch!  
Azula: /summon decline  
aLaborn: you utter cunt!!  
hToga: Uhm … can I summon one of you later? If I’m understanding correctly.  
aLaborn: im not feeling up to it since SOMEONE set my shit on fire. maybe moddog can pop in for you.  
ModDog: I’m not really summonable! Well unless I shift into a manifest form, but that costs a lot of power which we can’t really afford.  
hToga: It doesn’t have to be today if you need to clean up, Miss Laborn.  
aLaborn: yeah sure tomorrow sounds good. just don’t set me on fucking fire.  
hToga: Okay! See you then!  


Himiko grinned tightly before being shaken out of her reverie by Himari tapping her on the shoulder. It was lunch time, which meant it was time to break out her homemade bento. 

“Himiko, I caught Saito looking at you again,” she whispered conspiratorially. Her eyes flickered to a messy haired boy talking to his friends in the corner. “I think he likes youuu.”

Himiko ducked her head — feeling trapped, strangely enough — and the other girls burst into giggles. It wasn’t like she disliked him. If anything, she felt a strange admiration for the popular and well liked boy. Her blood did rush upon the sight of him, but not in a way that the girls would find ... appropriate. She swallowed.

“I don’t think it’s like that,” Himiko corrected, picking at her rice.

“Oh don’t be shy, Himiko,” Kyoko said with a cheeky grin. “Graduation is coming soon and that’s when all the girls confess. After all, you’re not going to see some of us ever again.”

“Awww don’t remind me!” Asahi Yui cried out. A stout girl with a cheerful demeanor, she tackle hugged Kyoko. “I’m going to miss you all so much!”

“Don’t worry, we all have group chat!” Kyoko said, laughing.

It was a perfect peaceful moment, with all of them joking and eating.

So why did Himiko feel such dread?

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Homura stared at the ceiling balefully from her bed. Five hours had passed yet this message would not let her sleep! This was a severe problem. If she couldn’t get the minimum four hours of sleep she needed, then she would be ill tempered. Being ill tempered led to a bad first impression with Madoka. A bad first impression meant an incubator could get its claws into her. One false step led to another and another and another.

Homura reluctantly turned her full attention to the message, examining it. It looked like a mental thought of a magical girl, except it wouldn’t go away. With deep frustration, she accepted the message.

hAkemi has joined the node!  
ModDog: Final member! Hi Homura, nice to meet you!  
hAkemi: What is this? Who are you? Are you with the incubators?  
ModDog: Incubators? Who are they? And I’m ModDog, your mod for node 1125!  
hToga: It’s four in the morning, what are you doing up??  
aLaborn: yeah wtf?  
hAkemi: My apologies, but the message kept me awake...  
hToga: Oh really? Ugh, ModDog, what was with that message?  
ModDog: Haha, just a minor error. We thought that everyone would accept immediately.  
aLaborn: so you guys didn’t beta test this shit.  
ModDog: I-I wasn’t in charge!  
aLaborn: lame excuse.  
hAkemi: Are you incubators?  
ModDog: Well I’m a node mod and everyone else here are exceptional humans!  
aLaborn: suck uppppp. but I accept.  
ModDog: ANYWAYS, we have the premier service of being able to summon others to your location if they accept.  
hAkemi: … What kind of abilities do you people have?  
aLaborn: im not a cape.  
hToga: … I don’t really like to talk about my quirk, but with a sample of blood, I can turn into other people.  
aLaborn: theres another cape here who can shoot fire out of her hands, but shes kind of a bitch.  


Homura bit her lip, eyes wide in shock. Lying on the bed, her mind raced with possibilities. These were people who had abilities not given by the incubators. These were people from another world that could help her. Could they even stay in the loop, keep their knowledge as she traveled back?

hAkemi: Will you be able to keep your knowledge even when I come back in time again?  
ModDog: Oh so you’re a time traveler. Well yes.  
aLaborn: shes a fucking time traveler?? wtf??  
hToga: Wow.  
Azula: … Time traveler?  
aLaborn: yea you know like the time travelers wife? or back to the future?  
Azula: What?  
aLaborn: shit you guys don’t have that? worst world: y/y?  
Azula: I don’t like the _implications_ of your so called sentence.  
aLaborn: bring it bitch!!!  
ModDog: Please don’t fight! We’re here to work together to make a more coherent multiverse!  
aLaborn: hey i didn’t fucking sign shit.  


Homura sighed. Did she really want to ask help from these people? But her horrific memories began to resurface, cutting her to the bone as she relived those experiences in an instant.

No. She wouldn’t let that happen. She’ll save Madoka.

Fists clenched, she sent her message.

hAkemi: I … need your help. Please.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

aLaborn: ok whats in it for me?  
hToga: H-how can you ask that?  
aLaborn: jk man, jeez.  


Azula kept an eye on the chat, even as she faded in and out of sleep. While Zuko had made the chains loose enough to sleep, he had not provided a cot for some reason. She had learned to rough it while chasing the Avatar, but had always tried to find a comfortable place to sleep. There had consistently been beds for the Princess of the Fire Nation.

hAkemi: It’s okay. Helping me will be extremely dangerous and compensation is a natural response. What do you want?  
ModDog: Keep in mind, the node is configured so that objects cannot be transferred to other universes through summoning.  
hAkemi: Summoning?  
aLaborn: you should probably run through your spiel.  
ModDog: We’re a node that has the summoning feature which is activated when you go /summon . You can summon your other node users through it!

Azula heard footsteps and jerked her head up. The guards kept a long distance away from her after she burned one of them in a tantrum about her food. It must be Zuko or her fool of an uncle, she concluded immediately. Much to her surprise, it was Ty Lee of all people.

hAkemi: /summon hToga

hAkemi is attempting to summon hToga. hToga, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
hToga: Oh! Uh, I’m in my pajamas is that alright?  
hAkemi: It’s fine.  
hToga: /summon accept  
hToga: A-amazing.  


Azula was sitting casually after getting her messy mane into check. Ty Lee sat down in front of her, looking pensive. Her clothes were green and of fine make while her hair was in its usual braid. She rocked back and forth for a little while before swallowing.

“Zuko’s having a feast day for all the nobles because tensions are getting high-” Ty Lee started.

“Are you here to bore me with stories of Zuko’s incompetence, traitor?” Azula snapped.

“Azula …” Ty Lee said, with infuriating pity. “Are they treating you alright?”

“It’s a prison, what do you _think_?” Azula bit out.

“Yeah, well Mai’s told me stories from her uncle about how they treated certain firebender prisoners,” Ty Lee said. “I was worried they imprisoned you in one of them.”

Azula knew those prisons. Her Father showed her one when she was young to demonstrate the folly of those who went against the Fire Nation. Azula remembered the stench of piss and blood. “Zuko’s far too weak to do what’s necessary.”

The flames flickered strangely across Ty Lee’s face. “Maybe.” Her voice was strange, unlike anything Azula had heard from the girl before.

“Is he finally going to kill me?” Azula said, grinning savagely even as her heart dropped.

“Zuko doesn’t want you to spend your whole life in here,” Ty Lee said. “He doesn’t want to kill you either.”

Azula shook her head, but understood what she was driving at already.

“They see it as a mercy I think.”

“What mercy is a life without my bending?!” Azula shouted at her, flames coming off her hands.

Ty Lee nodded. “I get it.”

That caught Azula off guard. “You do?”

She made a rude noise. “Azula, just because I don’t have bending doesn’t mean I don’t understand how big a deal it would be to lose what makes me special. Remember?”

Azula … did remember the beach and all the words that were said that night. Ty Lee had talked about her struggle with individuality in a family with six sisters. “Yes.”

“So let’s break you out!” Ty Lee exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

“What.”

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

aLaborn: whatre you guys doing?  
hAkemi: Conducting an experiment.  
aLaborn: cool. can i be there?  
ModDog: Sorry, right now the node only has enough power for one summon at a time!  
aLaborn: seriously? lame. 

“So, you need blood for your powers to work?” Homura asked. She seemed excited, eager almost. Himiko shifted nervously in front of her. 

“Yes, but I don’t get any new abilities. I just look like the person,” Himiko explained.

“Hm. Interesting,” Homura declared before going to the kitchen.

“W-what are you doing-” Himiko started, as Homura came out with a knife. With a slice, Homura cut her shoulder and offered the blood pouring out to Himiko, who began trembling.

“ … is there a problem?” Homura asked. Himiko shook her head as she reached out with a hand and scooped it up into her palm. She stuck her hand into her mouth, and a look of pleasured relief spread across her face as she transformed into Homura. Homura circled the girl observantly.

“It is a perfect copy as far as I can tell,” Homura admitted. “Thank you very much.”

Himiko was preoccupied with licking and sucking the blood off her fingers. “Hm?”

“It is almost morning. I need to get ready,” Homura said, as she healed the cut on her shoulder with a flash of her magic. Himiko stepped with a look of panic as her alarm went off in the other world.

“Shit!” she said as she chose to disappear back to her world. Himiko was alarmed to find the traces of blood still on her fingers, and quickly melted back into her original body. She ran to the bathroom to wash the blood off. Himiko got ready for school, with her mouth tingling all the while and her mind on the taste. In the hallway, she smiled brightly at her mother, who flinched at the sight.

“Don’t smile like that!” her mother snapped. “It makes you look ugly!”

Himiko’s smile slipped off her face and she hunched her shoulders.

By the time breakfast was over, Toga Himiko had to tell herself she was happy.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

aLaborn: 8==D  
aLaborn: heh.  
hAkemi: Please stop, this is the third variation of a penis you’ve made.  
Azula: Agreed.  
aLaborn: im boredddd. stuck in fucking history class.

Aisha sat in the back of class, fidgeting as the lecture bored her to tears. It was easier to doodle and shitpost in the mind chat than try to force her mind to focus on white people killing native americans.

Azula: You should be happy to be learning. Education is one of the principles of life you should strive for.  
aLaborn: id be happier about it if i didn’t have ADD.  
Azula: ADD?  
aLaborn: i forgot, different world. it’s a brain thing that makes it hard to focus on stuff. like you try listening to some kind of history thing, but you get distracted by something infinitely more interesting like talking to girls from other worlds.  
Azula: Hm.  
hAkemi: Azula, do you mind if I summon you?  
Azula: I suppose. I’m not terribly busy at the moment.  
hAkemi: /summon Azula

hAkemi is attempting to summon Azula. Azula, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
Azula: /summon accept  
aLaborn: you know there’s something we haven’t tried yet.  
ModDog: What’s that?  
aLaborn: /help

A subject catalogue has been opened in your head! Please use ‘help (subject name)’ to read an entry.

Aisha winced as an enormous library of information opened up suddenly. It was like standing in a room full of thousands of open books that somehow could punch her in the face. She didn’t know what to read and it was overwhelming.

hToga: Ow! /close help

The information well went away and Aisha could stop rubbing her temples in pain. Ow, ow, ow.

hAkemi: That was deeply unpleasant, though it opened up some possibilities.  
aLaborn: what do you mean?  
hAkemi: ModDog, this is a code based system right?  
ModDog: Well it’s more or less translating your languages together into a system that’s codified-  
aLaborn: we’ll take that as a yes.  
ModDog: I didn’t say yes!!!  
aLaborn: so if im following correctly, we learn more code, we can bust this system wide open.  
hAkemi: Yes.

Aisha considered her options. There were a bunch of computer nerds she knew that she could bribe with some shoplifted candy. The bell suddenly rang, and she groaned as she realized that she had homework.


	4. Chapter 3

"This is stupid."

Azula had been pacing around the center of her prison since Ty Lee had come. Three steps east, turn around, three steps west. Ty Lee said that it would be this evening that they'd leave, under the cover of the festival Zuko was holding. Ty Lee had remained frustratingly secretive on the details, only saying to 'trust her, Azula!' It wasn't like her situation could get worse, but Azula hadn't gotten this far in life to be _trusting_ people. Still, Azula waited for Ty Lee, not patiently, but waited for her nonetheless.

hAkemi: So I can stop time and store items.  
aLaborn: that's cool as fuck. how big are the items you can store? how many can you store?  
hAkemi: Anything wider than my shield can't fit. I haven't found a limit to my storage.  


Azula absentmindedly touched the back of her head, feeling her shorn locks acutely. Ty Lee had left a razor for her, saying a change of look was needed if she were to escape without notice. It was awful, as her long hair was a point of vanity for Azula, but she saw the logic in Ty Lee's actions. How strange it was to think that. When she heard footsteps coming down the hallway, she tensed. She recognised the pattern as Ty Lee's, but she couldn't be 100% sure until she saw her. Azula relaxed when Ty Lee showed up, briskly walking down the hall. She was in a red cloak and opened the door to her cell with the keys.

"C'mon, we only have 24 hours until the guards are up," Ty Lee said brusquely. They got all the chains off of her and Azula quickly changed into the change of clothes Ty Lee brought. It was a red tunic with black pants, with some slippers. Basic but practical. Azula approved of Ty Lee's fashion choices.

Azula tried to not marvel at the sky when they went outside. She had been underground for so long she didn't feel right with exposed air above her head like this. Ty Lee grabbed her hand, which spread a strange warmth throughout her body, and led her through the crowds. Azula licked her lips at the smell of fried and meaty foods in the air, suddenly hungry …

Ty Lee dragged Azula through the crowd and into an area of large tents. Azula’s eyes widened as she realized Ty Lee's plan. She dug her feet in and halted Ty Lee to a stop in an empty field area.

"You're taking me to the circus?!" she hissed. Ty Lee rolled her eyes, a first from her.

"You'll be perfect there! It's anonymous, travels a lot, and you're great at acrobatics," Ty Lee replied back tartly. She sighed. "It's not like you have to stay there forever, Azula."

"I'm a princess, not a circus harlot!" she snapped.

"Don't you get it? You're not a princess anymore!" Ty Lee snapped back, incensed. "You can't boss me around anymore! I'm your friend, not your minion!"

"I'm Firelord Azula!" Azula declared, staring her in the eyes. "Everyone is my minion."

"Zuko beat you."

"Only with the help of that waterbender savage!" she yelled. "The Agni Kai is void."

"You started it by targeting spectators!" Ty Lee yelled frustrated. Then she took a deep breath suddenly and let it out. "Azula. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't want your help!" She threw Ty Lee's hand away and ran off, ignoring Ty Lee's pleas. She found herself in a field of flowers. Purple chrysanthemums, she thought absentmindedly remembering a lesson from school. She waded through them angrily, heading towards the wall of the capital. _Trying to foist her off to some circus freaks,_ she thought, _as if she’d sunk that low!_

Azula batted some vines away to reveal a pond, the Avatar, the waterbender savage, and his bison.

Fuck, she thought, as the avatar's eyes started to glow white.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Azula: /summon hAkemi

Azula is attempting to summon hAkemi. hAkemi, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
hAkemi: … what is this?  
Azula: I’m being attacked, _help_ me!  
hAkemi: /summon accept  
ModDog: Oh no!  
aLaborn: oh shit!  
hToga: !!  


Homura was jumping across rooftops when she got the summons and stumbled on a lip once her second body was formed. She hit the ground painfully and instinctively froze time in both places. Releasing time in her own world quickly once she realized her soul gem was clouding up at an alarming pace, she took stock of Azula’s situation. Azula had one arm captured by water from a girl who was pulling water from the pond below her. A boy with glowing eyes and tattoos was throwing an enormous rock at her as well.

This … was troubling.

She pulled out a grenade and dropped it on the midlength of the limb. It exploded the limb without hurting anyone, fortunately. She touched Azula on the shoulder, pulling her out of the time stop.

“Explain yourself,” Homura demanded.

“ ... They just attacked me!” Azula protested.

“These people know you. Stop lying.” From the look on the water girl’s face, she hated Azula.

“Alright, you caught me,” Azula said with a pout. “Can we talk about this somewhere else though? You said your time stop isn’t permanent.”

Homura flipped her hair and scooped Azula up in her arms, ignoring her distressed squawk. She ran quickly through the field passing a distressed girl, but Homura was surprised when she felt a tugging at her sleeve.

“This girl is my minion,” Azula said grudgingly. “You can trust her.”

“Okay,” Homura said, before landing next to her and dumping Azula out unceremoniously. The timestop suddenly ended and the girl shrieked as they appeared from nowhere next to her.

“Azula!” Ty Lee exclaimed, sounding relieved. She blinked owlishly at Homura. “And… who is this?”

“Akemi Homura,” Homura said, as she flipped her hair. Azula rolled her eyes as she stood up.

“Whoa, so cool … I’m Ty Lee!” she said, with stars in her eyes. Azula cleared her voice.

“We should probably get going, the Avatar is around here,” Azula said, scowling. Ty Lee’s eyes widened as she grabbed Azula’s and Homura’s arms and started dragging them away towards the circus tents. Once they got there, Ty Lee ran off to a man in an overly elaborate outfit. He was demonstrating how to walk on stilts to another girl her age.

"Hey Bao!" Ty Lee shouted, grinning cheek to cheek. He returned the grin with one of his own and jumped down from the stilts deftly. 

"Ty Lee! My babe, my star!" he exclaimed, before grabbing her and twirling her in a hug. "Oh, and who are these people?"

"This is my friend, Niu! And her friend Rin!" Ty Lee replied. "Niu needs a place to stay!"

"Not particularly inspired, but she looks strong ..." Bao said, raising an eyebrow. Azula scowled at him, out of general grumpiness.

"Pleaseeeee Bao?" Ty Lee said, giving puppy eyes to Bao. He placed a hand on his forehead.

"Ah! You know I'm weak to your wiles!" he said, dramatically. "Very well. She can help us move and such until she can prove herself."

"Prove myself-?!" Azula snapped, before Ty Lee held her hand and calmed her down.

"You'll be doing acrobatics in no time, Niu," Ty Lee whispered to her. Azula sneered and looked away.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

hAkemi: I was able to rescue Azula, and with her friend’s help, she was hidden in a circus.  
aLaborn: a circus? lmao  
Azula: Still your tongue, peasant.  
hToga: So everyone’s fine? What a relief.  


Himiko was surprised to find out she was relieved, lying down on her bed. The sunset was beautiful from her window, one of the few things she treasured about living here. She was done with her chores and homework and was trying to get rid of her tension headache. Her thoughts wandered back to the blood Homura had given her. The taste had been exquisite, like an expensive chocolate poured on top of a ripe strawberry. It had been years since she had a taste of blood and she had nearly forgotten it. Her mouth watered at the thought of more.

“You look creepy,” her little sister, Hana said. Himiko jerked upwards in her bed at the interruption. Hana had a plate of food in her hands and was staring at her with a grimace.

“Hana-” Himiko started, not knowing where she was going to go with this conversation.

“I don’t wanna know what you were thinking about,” Hana interrupted as she dropped the plate of food on her desk. “Mom’s right, you wouldn’t be weird if you tried to be normal.”

Himiko felt her blood surge in rage at that. She tried so hard-! But seeing Hana flinch at her face made her stop rising from her bed, and she tried to hold the placid expression she always wore. It didn’t seem successful, from the way Hana shrunk away from her.

“You’re so weird!” Hana snapped as she closed the door behind her. Himiko stared at the door, feeling heavy tears collecting before brushing them away. Why was she crying? This happened all the time.

She was used to it, Himiko told herself, she was used to it.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Aisha endured another day of lessons that’d never apply to her and indifferent teachers whose condescension came with callous malice. After the bell rang, she wanted to run, but didn’t want to seem weird, so she jogged to the room she knew had the afterschool geeks. Aisha opened the door to the wide eyed looks of shy boys hunched over their laptops. The room’s LED lights cast their skin in a rather unflattering pallor.

“Sup,” she said, with a grin. One of them, probably with the greatest nerve, cleared his throat to speak.

“Can, can we help you?” he said, sounding apprehensive.

“Yeah,” she said breezily. “I’d like to learn coding.”

“What?” another stammered out. She casually dropped into a seat next to a random boy and scooted closer, causing him to fluster a deep red as she looked at his screen. To her surprise, it wasn’t porn or a video game, but actual code.

“You guys do actual work in here?” she asked, looking around.

“Mr. Robinson said she’d supervise only on the condition we work at least an hour,” one of them mumbled. “We do other stuff too after.”

“Ah, so that’s when the porn comes out,” Aisha said sagely, causing them to sputter.

Brave nerd, the one who’d spoken first, was also the first to collect himself, and turned in his chair towards her. “Look, this is for those who’ve at least taken the beginning coding class. None of us recognize you so you clearly haven’t.”

Aisha scowled. “C’mon, it can’t be that hard.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t waste time on a charity case. We participate in coding competitions and win.”

Aisha bristled. She was no _charity_ case! “Never heard of you.”

The boy’s grimace was ugly. “Principal loves his stupid track team third place trophies more than a first place coding win.”

aLaborn: wow these guys are salty.  
Azula: Salty? Why would you salt people?  
aLaborn: sore losers i mean.  
Azula: Ah. Superiority _is_ hard to acknowledge for some.  


“Well I can’t help you with that,” Aisha said, shrugging. “But I can help you get some stuff if you want though.” She waggled her fingers with meaning.

“You mean stealing?” one of the boys said, sounding scandalized. However, the brave nerd was contemplating the offer, hand on chin.

“I do need a new graphics card,” he admitted. “Alright, I’ll tutor you for a few weeks in exchange for an AMD Radion 2X-300. The computer store at Weymouth has it.”

Aisha repressed a grimace. That damn store was loaded with security and he knew it! But if Homura could do what she said she could do … “A month, twice a week.”

“Deal.” The Brave nerd stuck his hand out. “I’m Drew, by the way.”

“Aisha,” she said, taking his hand and shaking it the way Brian taught her.


	5. Chapter 4

Azula was no stranger to the concept of working hard, even if she had never done manual labor in her life. She had servants and lowborn soldiers for that. She sweated and broke nails as she carried crates and barrels. In no time, instead of being in the capital, she was on the road. It was slightly amusing to see her brother lose his mind and send scores of troops to look for her, but Bao was good to his word and kept her away from the searches by having her practice acrobatics, hiding in plain sight. No one looked up. The girl, Bok Nam, that he had been teaching stilt walking helped her slightly with the acrobatics, but Azula mastered it in no time. After all if Ty Lee could do it, so could she. She chose to ignore all the times she had fallen on the net.

Azula was enduring the rumbling of the wagon she was in as she chatted with her new acquaintances.

Azula: So you have monsters that attack once every four months and they’re nigh indestructible? How has your society not collapsed?  
aLaborn: *shrug* our capes try to stop the worst of it, but yeah, we’re fucked i figure.  
hAkemi: They sound like Walpurgisnacht.  
aLaborn: an extremely destructive, city destroying monster?  
hAkemi: Yes.  
aLaborn: ah fuck. you’re supposed to say no.  
hToga: It’s the monster at the end of each of your loops right?  
hAkemi: Yes, it seems impossible for me to defeat… Madoka is usually the one that defeats it. But she musn’t contract with the Incubator.  
aLaborn: have you told them about the downsides? like being a lich and turning into a monster?  
hAkemi: I… wish to spare them-  
Azula: Homura, life is pain. Sparing them gets you nowhere.  
hAkemi: I told them before and they didn’t believe me! When Mami found out, she tried to kill everyone!  
aLaborn: well maybe don’t tell this mami person, but madoka, is she reasonable?  
hAkemi: Yes…  
aLaborn: then just be honest.  
hAkemi: Very well. I’ll try.  
Azula: Don’t try, do.  
hAkemi: Azula, I haven’t forgotten about your promise to me.  
Azula: … How unpleasant.  
Azula: Very well, I’ll start from the beginning.  
Azula: A hundred years ago,  
aLaborn: we starting hundred years ago??  
hAkemi: Let her talk, Laborn.  
Azula: Ahem, a hundred years ago, the air nomads launched an attack on the Fire Nation and killed many in their gruesome assault. This could not stand, so the Fire Nation launched a counterassault, wiping out the savages. However their devious Avatar hid himself for a hundred years somehow. He reappeared last year to usurp the throne and place my idiot brother as a figurehead.  
aLaborn: …yeah that sound like bullshit.  
Azula: This is sacred fire nation teachings, peasant.  
aLaborn: sure and its bullshit. for one you said ‘wiping out the savages’, which sounds really racist, and another you just said a 100 year old man kicked your ass.  
Azula: He’s still a boy somehow, and it was my brother who fought me, not the Avatar himself. From all accounts, he dealt with my Father.  
aLaborn: so your brother kicked your ass.  
Azula: HE DID NOT KICK MY ASS! HE CHEATED BY HAVING THAT WATERBENDER SAVAGE INTERFERE ON HIS BEHALF!!!  


Azula did not yell outside of her head, but her eye started twitching.

aLaborn: … so the waterbender kicked your ass.  
Azula: I’M GOING TO BURN YOU TO ASHES!!!  
aLaborn: hah 

She pulled the pillow she was using from behind her head and screamed into it.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ) 

hAkemi: No.  
hAkemi: My timestop is not a toy.  
aLaborn: hear me out first!  


Homura was walking to her first day of school, ready to take on the day for once. However, Laborn was bothering her about petty thievery.

aLaborn: there are people in my world called tinkers remember?  
hAkemi: I do recall the topic yes.  
aLaborn: well they can make stuff like laser guns, teleporters, shit like that. shit that could help you. you help me, which is me helping all of us, then i help you rob them blind.  
hAkemi: … Hm.  


Homura was tempted at the thought of using a giant laser cannon to blow up Walpurgisnacht. It would certainly make her life a lot easier if that was possible. In the meantime, she was introducing herself to the class as usual, which she did almost automatically, so used to the routine.

hAkemi: Didn’t ModDog say that objects between worlds wouldn’t transfer?  
ModDog: Well what I said wasn’t accurate. Objects can transfer, they’ll just disappear after the person does and they’ll cost node power as well. I’ve also been trying to streamline the node so we’re lower on the costs.  
aLaborn: oh shit nice. is that why you’ve been gone?  
ModDog: That, among other things.  
aLaborn: what does that mean?  
ModDog: I gotta go! Bye!  
aLaborn: …  
hAkemi: Well I need to see a list of what the tinker has. I can’t be going in and coming out with nothing, if what they have doesn’t suit my purposes.  
aLaborn: makes sense. ill ask my brothers friend, shes psychic or something.  
hAkemi: Thank you.  
aLaborn: no prob.

Homura almost sighed with relief when she got to the class break period and abruptly stood up to walk away from the curious girls that usually surrounded her. She approached Madoka, who looked at her with trepidation, instead of the confidence of the first Madoka she had ever met. Sayaka eyed her with mild suspicion.

“Kaname, I’m not feeling well. As the nurse’s aide, could you take me to the nurse's office? I don’t know the way,” Homura asked.

“O-of course Akemi,” Madoka said, standing up whilst nodding her head. As they walked, Madoka hesitantly took the lead,

“How did you know I was the nurse’s aide?” she asked.

“Miss Saotome told me.”

“Ah …” Madoka lapsed into silence for a minute, before breaking it tentatively. “Akemi?”

Homura hated that. Hated that every time she went back, Madoka treated her like a stranger. “You can call me Homura.”

“Homura … that’s-” Homura knew every word by heart, and now that they were secluded, she didn’t have to keep up the farce.

“Kaname Madoka.” Madoka turned around, blinking in confusion.

“Y-yes?”

“There is a small white catlike creature that will approach you called the Incubator. Do not make a wish and contract with it, because your soul will be turned into a pretty gem that is eventually doomed to become a monster called a witch.”

Madoka was staring at her like she was crazy, and Homura gave a small sigh. Still, this would most likely sow the doubt and confusion she needed to prevent the wish. Homura walked off, eager to be alone to stew on her next set of moves.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

The counselor’s room was full of random knick knacks and pictures of her family. Behind Ms. Amaya, a plump woman in her fifties, Himiko could see the schoolyard. She was seated in front of her, feeling unhappy and uncomfortable as the woman looked through Himiko’s file, pretending that she didn’t know all the information inside already. 

hToga: I’m nervous.  
aLaborn: why? you got this. go to hero school and get the fuck out of your parents house.

“So Toga, what high schools were you thinking of applying to? You have excellent grades,” Ms. Amaya asked.

“I was wondering … what the application process for going to a hero school was,” Himiko asked quietly. Ms. Amaya’s smile started to tighten and she shook her head as she tutted.

“I don’t think you’d be a good fit for hero school,” she said. “How about a nice beautician school instead? You have lovely hair.”

“I’d really like to see the application process for going to a hero school,” Himiko insisted, her hands in her lap curling into fists.

“Dear, that’s not for people with your sort of quirk.” she said, condescendingly. She intertwined her fingers together and looked at Himiko with what she must have thought was motherly care. “You’re still just the same as a quirkless person, even if you use it.”

Himiko just gave her a flat stare, and the woman sighed after a moment.

“But if your heart is really set on it, I can print out the forms,” she finally conceded as she stood up. “What school were you thinking of?”

“Thank you,” Himiko said stiffly. “UA.”

Ms. Amaya gave her a surprised, skeptical look before shaking her head and shuffling around her office to get the paperwork for her. The counselor handed Himiko a manila folder filled with papers, and she rushed out of there as fast as was polite. Putting the papers in her bookbag, she headed back to her classroom, to help Saito clean up. Her friends had conspired to get Saito and her alone together. She shook her head ruefully as she remembered her friends giggling in fits once their scheme was revealed, but she wasn’t terribly mad though.

hToga: I did it guys! I got the paperwork!!  
aLaborn: hell yeah bitch, lets break out the good booze.  
hAkemi: Congratulations, Toga.  
Azula: Now you’ll be one step closer to destroying your enemies! But yes, congratulations.  


“Hi, Igarashi,” Himiko greeted Saito.

“Hey, Toga,” he said back with a smile as he swept the floor. “I got most of the dust. Do you mind handling the mopping? I filled the bucket already.”

“No problem,” she replied back. Himiko dipped the mop in the water and strained it, before starting to mop the floor. After a moment, Saito cleared his throat.

“Toga, there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Saito said, scratching his cheek sheepishly. Himiko turned towards him, blinking owlishly.

“Uh, yes?” she asked as he stepped closer. Himiko was suddenly aware of how uncute she looked with sweat licked locks and a mop in her hands.

“I don’t like you that way,” he said, with an explosive breath. “Whew, you have no idea how long it took for me to come up with that.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“I know, I’ve been giving mixed signals. Like, you’re cute and all, but you’re quirkless. It’s kind of funny, which is why I look at you so much. I just can’t figure it out. I mean, you’re quirkless, yet you come to school every day with a smile,” he rambled on, walking closer towards her until she backed up to the teacher’s desk. She felt her hand rest on a hobby knife. “How can you do that being _that_ disabled? What’s your secret, Toga? Your parents aren’t rich, you’re not taking drugs from the poor neighborhoods, and you don’t have a boyfriend that’s fucking you.

“How can you smile with such a miserable fate?”

Saito staggered backwards suddenly, blood spraying from his throat. Himiko stared as he fell to the floor and closed her open mouth, tasting the blood that landed inside. She dropped to her knees and reached out to Saito, but then dropped her hand into the puddle of blood instead, and tasted her fingers with reverence.

It was even better than last time.

“Aaaaiiiiee!” 

[Play a short game to see what Himiko did afterwards](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gjrM0uXaZmQbPdXsrETJN_eBH0OKw0J11TM2Qv-qtow/view)

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ) 

Aisha was in bed, throwing a ball up in the air while her mom was sleeping in the other room with some random drug dealer she’d just met. Her attention was drawn to the chat as it suddenly became active. 

hToga: I’m sorry guys.  
aLaborn: what’s up?  
hToga: I hurt someone.  
aLaborn: oh, why?  
Azula: How did you do it?  
hAkemi: Okay.  
ModDog: !!  
hToga: He was talking about things he didn’t understand and getting too close! So I … stabbed him in the throat with a hobby knife.  
aLaborn: wow that’s fucking metal.  
hAkemi: Are you okay?  
hToga: Yes … But I’m homeless and on the run now. I don’t want to go to prison.  
Azula: I wouldn’t recommend it.  
hAkemi: How much money do you have?  
hToga: I have twenty two thousand yen. But it’s not going to get me far …  
aLaborn: cut your hair, dye it, and the cops won’t even notice you. maybe get contacts ‘cause your eyes are so distinctive.  
hToga: I … you’re right.  
aLaborn: course im right.  
hAkemi: ModDog are we able to feed Toga if we summon her?  
ModDog: Uh, if you’re okay with her taking some node power for it.  
hAkemi: Yes, I’d like that.  


Aisha heard her phone beep, and she opened it to see a message from Brian.

> BrianButt: Hey, wanna hang out with me? Got my paycheck.  
>  Aisha: hellz ys. been meaning 2 tlk 2 u. tll u outside.

She grabbed her favorite jacket and stealthily snuck out outside before breaking into a run. Spotting Brian parked by the curb, she opened the door and slid in with a grin, before clicking on the seatbelt. He started driving as he talked.

“So what did you need to talk to me about?” he asked.

“I need to talk to your psychic teammate,” Aisha said, bluntly.

“Tattletale? What about?” he asked, startled.

“Tinkers and what stuff they might have,” she said, with a shrug. “You know those girls that I told you I started a band with?”

“Yeah …” he said, frowning.

“They’re actually from different dimensions and talk to me in a chatroom in my mind,” Aisha explained.

Brian was silent for a second. “Okay, prove it.”

“Can you drive to an alleyway? The car’s not exactly a great place for what I can do,” Aisha said, sheepishly. He nodded and drove to a discreet alleyway, parking before they both got out of the car.

aLaborn: hey uh, homura, can I summon you? I need to prove to my brother I’m not crazy.  
hAkemi: Very well.  
aLaborn: /summon hAkemi

aLaborn is attempting to summon hAkemi. hAkemi, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
hAkemi: /summon accept  


Homura appeared right in front of Brian, who tensed up, and she gave him an elegant Japanese bow.

“Hello, Aisha’s brother,” she said, before looking at Aisha. “He’s your point of contact right?”

“Yep.”

“Her mouth isn’t moving the same as her words. It’s like she’s being dubbed over,” Brian said, looking at Homura closely.

“Really? That’s cool.”

“Jesus. Okay, I believe you, but what do you need Tattletale for? You were being vague on purpose,” he said, folding his arms.

“We need a tinker that has made something that can hurt something that’s pretty tough. Homura, what’s the strongest weapon you’ve used on it?”

“A JSDF missile,” she said tonelessly. “Not a scratch.”

“That’s insane, that’s like…” Brian suddenly looked alarmed. Aisha instantly knew the thread Brian had picked up.

“It’s not an endbringer,” she hissed. “It’s just a really tough monster. Right, Homura?”

Homura nodded emphatically. “It can be defeated.”

“Right … Well it looks like we’re not going for ice cream like I thought,” he said, with a sigh. “I’m taking you to the hideout.”


	6. Interlude 1

Brian tapped the wheel of his car with two fingers as he drove through the grimy streets of Brockton Bay. Homura seemed nice enough, as she responded to Aisha’s casual discussion of various subjects with short statements. But he couldn’t shake the feeling there was something dangerous about the girl. He didn’t fully believe Aisha yet, but he didn’t want to get his sister riled up about it, and Tattletale could always verify her story. But this girl … the look in her eyes was dead inside like the marine he met once at his gym.

He was broken out of his reverie by arriving at the hideout. He took Aisha and Homura through the first floor and to the second floor of the loft. He knocked on the stairwell a few times.

“It’s the code for masks on.” he explained, giving them a minute before entering. Homura walked in coolly without consideration of a mask, which put another notch in the theory that Aisha was right.

Bitch was sitting up on the couch with the dogs while Regent played some video games.

“Who the fuck are these people?” she asked.

“They’re not here to join the team, they’re here for Tattletale’s help. She’s my sister.” He thumbed at Aisha who raised her eyebrows at Bitch’s obvious hostility. Then he pointed at Homura. “And she’s my sister’s friend.”

“Hmph. Fine,” Bitch said, before laying back down in the cuddlepile. He knocked on Tattletale’s door, who opened it with a mask on and a grimace.

“Ugh, I was sleeping, Grue,” she complained before zooming in on Homura. “Holy shit, where’d you pick up this one?”

“She says she’s from another dimension,” Brian replied, watching Lisa’s eyes widen and peer at Homura more closely.

“Hmm … why … interesting …” She opened the door and urged them to come inside. She sat on her chair, twirling towards Homura and pointing at the jewel on her left hand. “That jewel’s important right?” 

“Yes,” Homura stated simply. Aisha flopped on the bed, oohing at how soft it was.

“Like, source of your power important right?” Tattletale tilted her head. “No, holy shit, kills you if it breaks important.”

Homura grimaced. “Yes.”

“Tattletale, could you tell me if she’s the real deal or not?” Brian asked, sounding slightly annoyed from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Yeah she is, I figured that out when you mentioned it.” Tattletale waved him off. He nodded, taking it in.

“We’re in a chatroom called a node that has a moderator called ModDog,” Aisha called out from where she was ensconced in a fluffy blanket. “We can summon each other, it’s fucking cool. Homura needs Tinker devices that are powerful that she can use to destroy some kind of monster in her world.”

Tattletale looked at Homura again and grimaced.

“That bad huh? Well, I suppose I could contact our boss but I don’t know if Brian could afford something that powerful.”

“I can stop time and take any item that can fit in my shield,” Homura offered. Lisa’s eyes glinted brightly. “In exchange for your assistance in this matter, I can steal items for you that you would otherwise have difficulty getting.”

“Holy shit, that’s an incredible power,” Lisa said, smiling. Brian agreed; the heists they could pull with that kind of power ...

“It’s not an infinite amount of time,” Homura warned.

Lisa’s eyes flickered to her gem and her smile dropped. “Right. Well, let me search up some leads and look down some rabbit holes.”

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

The mall food court they were sitting at was clean and well kept. Sayaka Miki, Madoka Kaname, and Hitomi Shizuki sat at a table, enjoying their after school meals. As Madoka winded down from her retelling, Sayaka stared at Madoka in disbelief. “Huh?! She said what!?”

“It doesn’t make any sense does it?” Madoka said, looking down.

“Just when I was thinking she was someone gifted with both brains and beauty, it turns out she’s a psycho!” Sayaka exclaimed, frustrated. “Exactly how far was she going to keep up that weirdo character act? Is that what makes her moe?!”

She dramatically grasped herself and thudded her head against the plastic table.

“Madoka, are you sure you’ve never met Miss Akemi before?” Hitomi asked, used to Sayaka’s antics.

“Hmm...Well, the sensible answer is ‘yes’, but …” Madoka said, hesitantly.

“What’s that supposed to mean? That you have met her before in some ‘insensible’ way?” Sayaka asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Last night ...I first met her … in a dream …” Madoka muttered.“Or something.”

Sayaka and Hitomi laughed.

“Awesome! You’re acting like you’re an anime character, too!”

“That’s mean! This is really bugging me!” Madoka protested.

“Well, it’s obvious now. You must have known each other in a previous life and were brought by fate across time and space to meet once again!” Sayaka declared dramatically.

“You said you met in a dream. What kind of dream was it?” Hitomi asked, a little more sensitive to Madoka’s feelings.

“It was… To be honest, I can’t really remember anymore,” Madoka said, frowning. “I do know that it was a really strange dream, though …”

“Then maybe you actually have met Miss Akemi somewhere before.”

“Huh?” Madoka blinked.

“Though you may not consciously remember, your subconscious could have taken note of her and later brought her out in a dream.”

“Isn’t that a little far-fetched? I mean, that’s some coincidence,” Sayaka argued.

“I suppose.” Hitomi looked at her phone. “Oh! It’s already this late? I’m sorry, I’d better go.”

“Piano lessons, right? Or is it Japanese classical dance today?” Sayaka asked.

“Tea ceremony lessons. Even though entrance exams are right around the corner, I wonder how long Mother intends to make me continue with them,” Hitomi said, mildly exasperated.

“Whew! Makes me glad I wasn’t born rich,” Sayaka said with a laugh. She turned to Madoka. “Should we get going too?”

“Yeah,” Madoka said, grabbing her bag.

Sayaka leaned forward. “Madoka, do you mind if we stopped at the music store on the way home?”

“That’s fine. Buying another CD for Kamijo?” Madoka teased.

“Sorta,” Sayaka said, embarrassed. They said their goodbyes and left for their respective places. While Sayaka browsed the CD titles in the music shop tablet, Madoka tried on some sample music headphones. 

_Help me … Help me Madoka ..._

Startled, Madoka took off her headphones and looked around. There was a voice in her head!

_Please help me!_

Madoka started walking away from the shop and headed towards the closed down section of the Mall, where the voice seemed to be gaining in volume.

“Who’s there? Who is it?” Madoka asked.

_Help me …_

She opened a door to the rest of the section and headed inside cautiously.

“Where are you? Who are you?”

_Help me ..._

Madoka shrieked as an air duct fell open and a white cat thing fell out. She froze as she looked upon the injured creature, remembering Homura’s words of caution. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Homura in a strange costume.

“Homura …?” Madoka asked, confused.

“It is as I told you.” Homura said stonily. “It’s faking for sympathy. It has numerous bodies.”

Madoka swallowed as she looked upon the heavy breathing of the creature. “I-it looks pretty real. Just, please, don’t do something cruel.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Homura said, coming closer.

“But he was calling for help!” Madoka protested, picking him up into her arms.

Homura seemed to sigh and wait for a moment as if listening to something. “Madoka, I-”

Fire extinguisher foam suddenly sprayed Homura. Sayaka was there, spraying her.

“Madoka! This way!” she shouted as Madoka scrambled up and started to run.

“W-what is with that girl?! Now she’s attacking people in cosplay?!” Sayaka exclaimed as they ran. “And what is that thing? That’s not a stuffed animal is it? It’s alive?”

“I …” Incubator echoed in her mind. “I don’t know.”

Then the walls seemed to melt and change as white puffballs with malicious mustaches started to surround them. Iron thorns with chopping scissors approached with grim intent.

“Something’s wrong,” Madoka said, eyes wide.

“Haha, I’m dreaming right, Madoka …?” Sayaka said, afraid. Madoka opened her mouth to respond, but then there were multiple explosions, and Homura appeared in front of them, hair swaying as she looked concerned— no, afraid?

“Madoka, are you alright?” she asked, when another girl appeared suddenly. Her smile was warm, but her eyes were cold as she looked at Homura with a glowing egg in her hands. The strange apparitions suddenly disappeared, as if they were never there to begin with. Sayaka and Madoka looked back and forth between them.

“Thank you for saving him. Kyubey is a friend of mine,” the stranger said. “I’m Mami Tomoe.”

Mami eyed Homura. “If you go now, you can finish the witch off.”

“I have business here,” Homura said, icily.

“You don’t read between the lines very well, do you?” Mami said, coolly. “I’m telling you I’ll overlook what you did this time.”

“ … Madoka, remember what I said,” she said, before turning on a heel and walking off. Mami spent some time healing Kyubey, with Madoka sitting uneasily. Sayaka watched with wide eyes.

_Thank you, Mami! You’re a lifesaver!_

“If you want to thank anyone, it should be these two,” Mami said, with a smile. “I was just following the witch.”

Kyubey turned to Madoka and Sayaka. _Thank you very much. I came here because I have a request for you two._

“Request?” Madoka asked, feeling sudden dread.

_I want you to make contracts with me and become magical girls!_

Madoka turned pale.

Homura was right.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

“Where could she be!?” Zuko roared, slamming his fists on the map of the world. Team Avatar, Uncle Iroh, and Mai were in Zuko’s private chambers.

“Zuko, calm down, have some tea,” Iroh implored, offering a cup to Zuko. He took it gratefully and sipped at it.

“Thank you Uncle,” Zuko said, still frustrated. “Agh, if I get my hands on Ty Lee …”

“Let’s focus less on her and more on Azula,” Katara spoke up, raising her eyebrows. She stepped to the table and pulled out the map of the fire nation capital from a box next to it. She spread it out on the table and put polished rocks on the corners. 

“We searched the entire area already,” Zuko said irritably.

“Zuko even had me sweep the secret tunnels underneath the city,” Toph added.

“Yeah, but even so, we’ve only had a couple of days. And you know there are sympathizers to Azula,” Mai muttered.

“What I don’t get is how she managed to disappear! And that strange explosive device she used,” Katara exclaimed, folding her arms.

“It’s very interesting …” Sokka remarked, poking the remains of the device.

“Sokka, focus. We gotta catch Azula before she burns down a whole kingdom or something,” Suki scolded.

“ … I guess I have to put out a bounty,” Zuko muttered.

“Dead or alive?” Mai said, half joking. Zuko gave her a sharp look.

“Alive of course,” he snapped.

“We could contact June,” Aang said. “Her shirshu is great at tracking people down.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think she could handle Azula,” Toph observed.

“Yeaaahhh, that wouldn’t go down well. It’s too bad we can’t just go after her like old times,” Sokka said.

“We have responsibilities now,” Katara said with a sigh. “We need peace. Our jobs are to stabilize the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.”

“Ugh,” Toph said, flopping back.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

It was a miracle by all accounts. Saito Igarashi had survived his attack by Himiko Toga and stabilized, though he was still in a coma to recover. There was even talk about getting the famous Recovery Girl involved, but he was still in a delicate phase and no one wanted to accidentally kill the boy by having his body ravage what little resources he had left. 

Mito Iraraka sighed as she twirled in her chair. From the witnesses and evidence she gathered, it seemed like a confession gone wrong. Though her parents painted a far more disturbing picture, one of a monster in waiting, her teachers and friends said she was a good girl that was the model classmate. She didn’t know which account to believe, so she decided to wait until she could speak to the girl herself. That was proving to be far harder to do than anything else, despite her quirk, Smell Sense. Her antennae had already picked up the trail; following it was the problem. 

Toga had managed to get through multiple districts, which had caused her … bureaucratic problems. She couldn’t go to those districts without stepping on toes even for a simple matter like this. There were some detectives that believed that any case that entered their ‘territory’ was now theirs and some that didn’t believe a woman should be a detective. They were delaying their responses to her requests to investigate as long as they could and giving her the runaround as much as possible.

It was frustrating, and made her a little bitter that because of pride, runaway kids like Toga would inevitably become villains. But maybe, as she worked on the paperwork, if she tried her best like All Might, she could get to her in time.

Maybe.


	7. Chapter 5

Homura politely sipped at her tea as they waited for Tattletale to finish. She had shooed them outside as she considered them distractions from her research. Aisha said it was because she wanted to look mysterious when all she was doing was internet searching. Rachel and Alec had long retired to their beds.

“So how long have you been looping?” Brian asked.

Homura considered the question. She had not bothered to record her loops even though she could if she wanted. It had not been and was not important. She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Brian frowned as he sipped his coffee, but before he could say anything, Aisha spoke up.

“What’s the deal with the other girls? Like Sayaka and shit.”

Homura shifted uncomfortably. “…Mami made a wish to save herself in a car accident with her parents. She often self-destructs upon learning the truth or a witch kills her. Sayaka makes a wish to heal this violinist she admires. She also has the same fate as Mami. Kyoko is the only one whose heart is hardened enough to handle the reality of the situation, but it’s difficult to acquire her cooperation.”

“I get the feeling two people aren’t enough for Walpurgisnacht,” Aisha drawled.

“You would be correct,” Homura said quietly, remembering the one loop where she managed to get Kyoko to help her.

“So what powers do you have?” Brian asked.

“I have my time stop, I can shoot blasts of magical energy, store items inside my shield, fly, and heal myself,” Homura explained.

“Wait, can you heal other people?” Aisha asked, looking intent for some reason.

“Yes, though I haven’t had much occasion to.”

“Then why don’t you heal that violinist and stop that Sayaka girl from turning into a lich?”

Homura stared at her as her other body froze in the middle of making more bombs. She put them down and started heading towards the hospital.

“That … was a good idea,” Homura reluctantly admitted. She felt stupid. How had she not tried that?

Aisha grinned smugly, as if she knew how much that cost Homura to say. Brian rolled his eyes, beginning to say something, but turned around at the sound of the door of Tattletale’s room opening. She looked a bit rheumy and red eyed, but she strode to Homura, papers in hand.

“There’s only one tinker near us that’ll be amenable and suited for your plans,” Tattletale slid the papers to Homura who picked it up and let Aisha read off her shoulder. “I present Bauble of Toybox. I can get you in touch at any time.”

“They can turn inorganic matter to glass ... “ Homura imagined Walpurgisnacht exploding into a glass sculpture and smiled grimly.

“What do you want for this?” Aisha asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Oh, just a favor from Miss Time Traveler here,” Tattletale said airily.

“Acceptable,” Homura said, before Aisha could interject. 

“Toybox is expensive though,” Brian interjected with a frown. 

“Yeah, I estimate that the device will be around ten million, given the scale you need,” Tattletale explained.

Homura nodded as she stood up and started heading to the door.

“Where are you going?” Brian asked. Homura flipped her hair and looked at them neutrally.

“To rob the banks around here,” she said.

Aisha started laughing at Brian’s dumbfounded face.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Himiko Toga looked at herself in the mirror of the public bathroom she had used for an impromptu haircut and dye. It was strange to say the least. She’d liked her long hair, and had even considered just putting it up in buns instead. But when she had tried the bun approach, she had found she was just too recognizable, even if she thought it was delightfully cute.

After cleaning up her mess, she headed towards a bank’s bench to sleep on; the homeless shelters were all full already. Himiko clutched her bag that contained all of her worldly possessions to her chest, as she knew that other people would steal from her if she was not careful. Falling into an uneasy sleep, she woke up at the sound of a baton rapping on the bench, shaking it and her.

“You can’t sleep here. It’s against the law,” the police officer said, shaking his head at her. He squinted his lizard eyes at her. “ … Where are your parents? Where do you live?”

hToga: Shit shit, a police officer found me.  
aLaborn: oh shit the pigs are here fucking run for it.  
hAkemi: Stay calm.  
Azula: Police officer? Pigs?  
aLaborn: uh, they’re like government enforcers. real bad people.  
Azula: Oh. Then just kill him.  


Himiko’s heart raced as she stared up at him. “I’m an orphan. I don’t live anywhere.”

“Okay, what’s your name?” he asked.

“It’s Tanaka Hana,” Himiko lied. She caught a glance at the name on his uniform tag: S. Ito.

“Do you know your social security?” Ito continued.

“No,” she replied. He gave a big sigh.

“Look, let me call CPS and we’ll get you to a Child Guidance Center,” he said, reaching for his phone. Himiko remembered going to one once. She had cried to the Quirk Guidance Counselor about her treatment at home and they had asked her parents if they were causing her harm. They had of course said no and then screamed at her when they had left.

No. No no no. “No no no,” she said, unaware of herself. “I’m not going. You can’t make me.”

She broke into a run. “Hey wait, no-” Ito cried out. He stretched out his arm inhumanly long and grabbed her on the shoulder. She reacted without thinking, slashing his arm with a knife she had bought for protection. He squealed in pain and let her go.

She ran down the street, through an alley, and over a fence. Eventually, she made it to a park, feeling exhausted and hungry.

hToga: Guys, I know it’s early in the morning, but can I have a sandwich or something off you guys?  
aLaborn: sure, i think i have the best selection out of all of us. homura lives off of MREs and azula keeps having something called pig-rabbit stew.  
Azula: It’s not that bad.  
aLaborn: uh huh keep tell yourself that. /summon hToga

aLaborn is attempting to summon hToga. hToga, please do ‘/summon accept’ or ‘/summon decline’  
hToga: /summon accept 

Himiko’s mind split into two as it usually did, with no disorientation. It was like she had four sets of eyes; Two eyes in the park and two eyes at Aisha’ kitchen. Aisha grinned at her and opened the fridge gallantly. She eagerly raided Aisha’s fridge food and started chowing down quietly. They were all aware of Aisha’s situation, and wished everything could just be good for all of them for once.

Himiko became aware of a man coming up behind her, and she turned around to see a well dressed man with strange peach colored fuzz covering his entire body. His combover was well coifed and he smiled widely like a snake. Himiko disappeared from Aisha’s kitchen in a blink.

aLaborn: hey where’d you go himiko?

“Hello sweetheart,” he said in a sweet high voice. The kind of sugary gloopy voice that made you shudder to your bones. “Do you need help? Are you lost?”

Himiko shook her head as she backed away. “I’m fine.”

“I can help you, sweetheart. You look so lost,” he said, reaching for her. He was suddenly closer in a few swift steps. She turned and ran, but his hand brushed her right shoulder, and it turned numb, with crackling pain throughout it.

Himiko couldn’t move her arm anymore and ran awkwardly as the man followed at a sprint.

“Sweetheart, I just want to help you!” he shouted, malicious intent slipping into his voice.

“Fuck you!” Himiko yelled back, hoping to get back onto the streets and out of the park. She managed to hit the sidewalk just as the man burst out of the bushes with his arms outstretched. He swiped at her torso and she cried out as her stomach cramped with her muscles, curling in pain. Himiko ditched her backpack and ran as fast as possible with the man leisurely striding behind her.

He was playing with her, she realized with blinding fury. But there was nothing she could do. Her pace eventually slowed to walking as her stomach pain reached her back muscles, causing her to sag ungracefully.

hToga: I’m so sorry. I’m in trouble again.  
aLaborn: homura’s still asleep you might wanna summon azula.  
Azula: I want something in return. 

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, in faux concern. “You don’t look so good.”

He swiped at her legs and Himiko fell to the ground with a shriek. She was crawling now with her left arm, hoping beyond hope she could make it to the other side.

aLaborn: that’s kind of a dick move, no lie azula.  
Azula: Well I just want to be out more than a convenient pai sho piece. I want to see your worlds! Those dazzling skyscrapers you talk about, the hot dog that isn’t a dog, I want everything! 

“Oh you’re going to be a great triumph for me,” he said, throatily. “What creamy skin and lovely hair …”

He kicked her over onto her back, and she stared at him in terror as he pulled out a long serrated knife; A far cry from the hobby knife she’d used on Ito. Licking his lips, he knelt down and gently brushed against her cheek with the back of his hand, then he pressed down on her throat, causing her vocal muscles to lock. Her mind swam with pain and confusion.

hToga: i CaNt t hink ...  
ModDog: !!! Are you okay??  
aLaborn: AZULA  
Azula: Fine, fine! Summon me! 

“Don’t worry, this will only hurt a lot!” he announced, grinning widely. Pressing the knife down on her throat, he drank in the deep terror of her eyes, when a metal spear skewered him.

A spider woman climbed down from the walls, and pulled the leg out of the man’s body.

Azula: Himiko?  
Azula: Himiko, this isn’t funny.  
Azula: Himiko! 

“Looks like I should have been a little quicker,” the spider woman said, sighing as Himiko finally lost consciousness.

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

ModDog: She’s not dead, I would know.  
Azula: Then where is she??

Azula paced around inside the tent, feeling unusually agitated. Himiko had disappeared suddenly during their chat this morning and hadn’t responded since. Azula had admittedly tried to leverage Himiko’s ‘bad situation’ to her advantage, but who wouldn’t?! She had only small glimpses of the technology that could advance her right to rule over her brother, but knew that it was at least a century ahead of her world’s. And she was sick already of this small Earth Kingdom town and swinging around like a hog monkey. And the outfit! The outfit was completely terrible. A button up bodysuit with an overly fluffy skirt. Azula had wanted to burn it at once, but Bao had threatened to send her out in clown makeup, so she’d acquiesced for the moment.

But her stomach was cramping and weird as Himiko’s disappearance lingered on the chat. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt before and she couldn’t identify what it was. So she headed to the main tent where Bok Nam was practicing her swings.

“Bok Nam! I am in need of your services!” Azula announced imperiously. Bok Nam dropped to the net in the middle of a swing and wiggled over to Azula.

“What’s up, Niu?” Bok Nam asked, eyebrows raised.

“So, hypothetically, if someone had been in trouble and another someone had demanded a favor from that person, but that person in trouble had disappeared suddenly, what would the feeling be afterwards?” Azula asked, eyes shifty.

“Well maybe you feel guilty, Niu,” Bok Nam said with a shrug. 

“I never said it was me.,” she said automatically. Azula glared at Bok Nam, but Bok Nam had rolled off the net and was heading to the cooking fires for lunch.

Guilty? Ridiculous. She had done so much worse than twisting someone’s arm for a favor and never had this feeling surfaced.

What was so different?

(❍ᴥ❍ʋ)

Aisha relaxed on the bench with a coffee and chocolate ice cream stuffed with gummy worms cone in hand. Brian finished paying the ice cream vendor and headed back to her with his own heretical plain strawberry ice cream.

Life was good.

She shuffled over for him, and they just sat in silence as they tackled their ice creams before they melted. Not that there was much of a chance of that in this winter weather. Frankly, they had surprised the shit out of the vendor, but ice cream was kind of a bonding moment for them.

“Aisha,” Brian finally spoke up. “I’m glad you’re going back to school, but I heard your grades are bad.”

Aisha rolled her eyes. She was only going to see the computer geeks. And because there wasn’t much to do besides school. “Kinda hard when they don’t accommodate me, Brian.”

“I know, I know,” Brian said, sadly. “I think I can swing an Arcadia transfer with my boss. They’ll be able to help you better there with their resources. But you have to tough it out in the meantime. You don’t even have to get As or Bs, straight Cs would be enough.”

Aisha scowled. “Look, what I do on my time is my business. And it’s not like school’s important; the whole world’s going to hell. You know that real life skills are more important.”

“And so is a middle school diploma,” Brian said firmly. “Just promise me you’ll try?”

Aisha took a giant bite of her ice cream in order to have an excuse not to speak and regretted it immediately. After handling the brain freeze and the mush of flavors, while Brian patiently waited her out, she spoke up mulishly. “Okay.”

Brian smiled handsomely and gave her an awkward one arm hug. Aisha munched on her ice cream some more when Brian’s phone beeped. He checked his texts quickly and his eyes widened.

“Your friend’s been busy,” he murmured as he handed the phone to Aisha, who snatched it carefully. It was the latest model and had a touchscreen unlike Aisha’s brick. On the screen was an article heading, which read,

Brockton Bay Banks Bamboozled??

This morning, bank employees were utterly confused when they opened the bank doors and had the vault explode suddenly. They hit the alarm and rushed over to see who was attacking the bank, but found the vault open and completely empty of money. The robber proceeded to hit the other banks in short order, terrifying the employees with their explosive devices. The PRT have issued a response on the apparent parahuman crime, and are calling the thief ‘Lilac’.

And that was where Aisha stopped and handed back the phone to Brian with a grin.

aLaborn: nice work homura.  
hAkemi: It wasn’t hard. I still need more.  
aLaborn: you could steal from the gangs, like those fucking merchants.  
hAkemi: Noted.

Aisha felt relieved that Azula hadn’t spoken up. She was still a little angry with the girl. Who knew what was happening to Himiko now, all because Azula had to be a bitch.

“So how are your friends?” Brian asked carefully. Aisha grimaced.

“One of them is missing,” she muttered. “Dog says she’s not dead, but that guy’s an airhead, not exactly reliable.”

“Oh,” Brian said, floundering. “What happened before? We could contact Tattletale.”

“She just said she was in trouble, but that girl is so fucking demure you could run her over with a feather,” Aisha muttered. “And what could Tattletale do? She can’t exactly be psychic over a dimensional chatroom.”

“I’ve seen Tattletale pull out information from an empty toilet paper roll,” Brian said, causing Aisha to snort.

“I think it’s a wait and see situation. Even if she got kidnapped, as long as she wakes up, I’ll boot Azula’s backside there,” Aisha declared.

Brian smiled, clearly amused. “Better wear your steel toed ones then.”

“Hell yeah, you know it,” she said, before turning back to the cone. Aisha was nearly finished with her cone when Brian spoke up again, sounding deeply concerned.

“Aisha … you do want to live with me right? I just realized I never asked you that,” he said, posture nervous. It almost made her laugh.

“ … Yeah I do,” Aisha said, before deepthroating the cone bottom and enjoying the crunchy sugar pastry. Brian made his customary disgusted face.

“Aisha, slow down, it’s not going anywhere,” he scolded.

“Arm, Narm, Gnarm,” she responded.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Conference Call written by the esteemed Pachy.


End file.
